Center Union

The Center Union was a national liberal political party in Greece that was active from 1961 to 1974. The party was founded as a merger of several liberal parties in Greece, the largest being the Liberal Party of Greece. The party was elected to power under Georgis Papandreou in 1963 (having been aided by King Paul of Greece), but, in 1965, King Constantine II of Greece forced Papandreou from power due to poor relations between the two of them. The Center Union party, which was already disintegrating due to factional disputes (some of its members were even democratic socialists or former communists), was unable to form a working government by itself during the 1960s, leading to the rise of the Regime of the Colonels in 1967. The party was known as "Center Union - New Forces" from 1974 to 1976, and it merged into the Union of the Democratic Center in 1976.